Business Digest Radio

Economic headlines tell us what's happening. But understanding the numbers behind them can help business leaders make better decisions.
On The Business Signal, Dirk Hobbs welcomes Dr. Bill Craighead, Director of the UCCS Economic Forum, for a timely look at the economic forces shaping Colorado Springs and the broader Pikes Peak region.
REGISTRATION: https://business.uccs.edu/economic-forum 
With the 30th Annual UCCS Economic Forum approaching on October 28, this episode explores the value of regional economic intelligence for business owners, executives, entrepreneurs, and community leaders.
From workforce and employment trends to housing, real estate, and the region's major industries, economic indicators offer important perspective on market conditions and future opportunities.
The upcoming Economic Forum will also examine regional economic development, the defense economy, and the future of travel and tourism.
Why attend - I'm just a small business. Because understanding the local economy isn't simply an academic exercise. It can help businesses evaluate opportunities, anticipate challenges, and plan more effectively.
 

The Business of the Arts: A Conversation with David Siegel
What role does the creative economy play in building a stronger, more competitive Colorado Springs?
On The Business Signal, Dirk Hobbs welcomes David Siegel, Executive Director of the Ent Center for the Arts at UCCS, for a business-focused look at the intersection of arts, education, economic development, and community investment.
From operating professional performing arts programs within a university environment to developing the next generation of creative professionals, the Ent Center offers a compelling example of how arts organizations can contribute to regional vitality.
The conversation provides an opportunity to examine the business considerations facing cultural institutions, the importance of community partnerships, and the broader value of a thriving creative sector to Southern Colorado.
 
Visit TheatreWorks at: https://entcenterforthearts.org/theatreworks 

Colorado Springs is home to some of the nation's most innovative defense and technology companies, and Bluestaq is helping demonstrate the region's growing influence in secure data infrastructure, national security and enterprise technology.
Founded in 2018, Bluestaq has grown from a local startup into an international technology enterprise, developing sophisticated solutions that help defense, intelligence and commercial organizations securely access, manage and share mission-critical data.
With its recent expansion into commercial data infrastructure through BLUESTAQ /ARQ, the company is opening new opportunities to apply technology developed for demanding national security environments to challenges across other industries.
This episode of The Business Signal, presented by Virtuent of TSG Wealth Management, spotlights Bluestaq's growth with Geoffrey Carrigan, technological capabilities and place in Southern Colorado's expanding defense and innovation economy.
An important listen for business executives, entrepreneurs and industry leaders following the intersection of technology, national security and regional economic development.
Learn more about Bluestaq: https://bluestaq.com 
 

What separates high-performing individuals and organizations from the rest in your organization and leadership team?
On The Business Signal, Dirk Hobbs welcomes Colorado Springs-based executive coach, author and performance specialist Coach Charmas Lee for a conversation exploring the principles of leadership, team development and personal excellence.
With more than three decades of coaching experience spanning competitive athletics and the corporate world, Lee brings a distinctive perspective to the challenges facing today's business leaders.
An episode for executives, entrepreneurs and professionals interested in building stronger teams, developing leadership capabilities and creating a culture of sustained performance.
https://charmaslee.com 

Yes ... you read that right. Per day.  That seems a little exaggerated, right? Well, it's not. 
American workplace culture (and elsewhere) is ripe with documented evidence of acts of incivility between individuals and teams that in turn create lost productivity, lost creativity, distrust, disengagement, and even loss of personnel and intellectual property. 
So what's going on? That's what Lori Leander, co-founder of Reclaiming Civility unpacks in this hour of understanding why and how so much tolerance of misconduct and poor conflict resolution behavior is happening in our workplace and elsewhere. 
Learn about how unruly conflict effects the amygdala and typically results in prolonged and often unresolved issues that costs companies millions annually. 
The bright side: There is a way back! Learn about Reclaiming Civility's tools and training to help employees and leaders use the best and most applicable tools to grab control "upstream" for onsite events and how a well-handled conflict between adults can transform a company culture into a strong, well-oiled machine that breeds confidence, creativity, productivity and profits. 
https://reclaimingcivility.com

We've all heard the term, "use it or lose it".  The same is true about how airlines determine what gates - be they direct or a connection flight - go where and how many times a week. Low utilization equals fewer options. Higher utilization usually means those reliable gates can be counted on to be there year in and year out. 
Airline/Airport economics is a very complicated financial equation with numerous variables, and it all comes down to one simple rule: If consumers use it consistently, the gate will likely remain for as long as that data points to strong usage. Aviation Director, Alex Kovacs explains how the COS Airport is working diligently with recreational and business travelers in our regional catchment area of 1.2 million people, to think, FLYCOS first.  When you factor in all the variables: cost to drive and park at DIA, weather and traffic uncertainty (especially in winter months), the stress of being on time and not knowing the airport well, time through security, and more, traveling out of COS make sense to most who try it once, then come back again and again. The ease in which you can get in and out of the concourse and on your way is priceless - especially when you consider when you conclude travel at DIA, you still have significant drive time home to southern Colorado.  
Sometimes DIA is the only and best option. But most of the time, a quick connecting flight from COS to DIA allows you to be "in the system" and on your way knowing you will be coming home to southern Colorado - quick and easy. HTTPS://FLYCOS.com 

Colorado’s economy remains resilient, but businesses are increasingly contending with higher operating costs, regulatory complexity, housing affordability challenges and a slowing business environment.
On this edition of The Business Signal, Dirk Hobbs speaks with DJ Summers, Director of Communications and Research Operations for Common Sense Institute, about the organization’s latest assessment of Colorado’s economic performance.
The conversation examines how legislative and regulatory activity can affect the cost and confidence of doing business in Colorado, why housing affordability has become both a workforce and economic-development issue, and what indicators suggest business activity may be slowing.
Summers also discusses the broader question facing Colorado: how the state can preserve economic competitiveness while addressing legitimate public-policy priorities. The discussion provides business leaders with context behind the numbers—and a clearer understanding of the economic conditions influencing investment, hiring, expansion and workforce decisions across the state. 

What should a business education look like when the workplace students are preparing to enter is changing almost as quickly as the technology reshaping it?
On this edition of The Business Signal, Dirk Hobbs sits down with Dr. Bri Newland, Interim Dean of the UCCS College of Business, for a substantive discussion about higher education, workforce preparation and the increasingly important relationship between universities and the employers they serve.
The conversation examines how business education must remain relevant to a changing economy, the importance of connecting curriculum with real-world employer needs, and what students increasingly expect from their investment in a college degree.
Newland also discusses the College of Business’ role in developing talent for the regional economy, creating pathways for students and working professionals, and preparing graduates with the business, leadership and critical-thinking skills employers need.
The discussion goes beyond the classroom to consider a broader economic question: How can institutions such as UCCS help Southern Colorado develop, retain and continually strengthen the workforce required to compete for businesses, investment and emerging industries?
It’s a conversation about education as economic infrastructure—and why the relationship between business and higher education matters well beyond the university campus.

What happens when rapid population growth, economic development and preserving community character all converge in one place?
On this edition of The Business Signal, Dirk Hobbs sits down with Terri Hayes, President & CEO of the Tri-Lakes Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development Corporation and Visitor Center, for a closer look at the growing economic importance of northern El Paso County and the Tri-Lakes region.
The conversation explores the Chamber’s role in supporting local businesses, attracting and retaining employers, advocating for the business community and strengthening connections among Monument, Palmer Lake and the surrounding communities.
Hayes also discusses the evolution of the Tri-Lakes business environment, the importance of entrepreneurship and small business, and the challenge of managing growth while protecting many of the qualities that continue to make the region attractive to businesses, residents and visitors.
It’s a conversation about community, commerce and thoughtful economic development—and why what happens in Tri-Lakes increasingly matters to the broader Southern Colorado economy. 

What does the technology behind the color-changing mountains on a Coors Light can have to do with the future of cancer treatment?
Quite a bit, as it turns out.
On this edition of The Business Signal, Dirk Hobbs talks with Lyle Small, founder and CEO of Colorado Springs-based Lahjavida Bio, about an entrepreneurial and scientific journey that has taken Small from pioneering commercial color-changing inks to developing a new approach to precision cancer treatment.
Lahjavida is advancing dye-drug conjugate technology designed to more precisely deliver cancer-fighting therapeutics to tumors while reducing exposure to healthy tissue. Small explains the science behind the concept, the company’s preclinical work, and the long, demanding road required to move a promising biotechnology from the laboratory toward potential use in patients.
The conversation also explores entrepreneurship, raising capital, translating innovation into a commercially viable company, lessons learned through decades of building businesses, and what Lahjavida’s work says about the potential for life-sciences innovation to emerge from Colorado Springs.
It is a conversation about invention, persistence and the intersection of business and science—with potentially significant implications for the way cancer may someday be treated.